


Second Time's the Charm

by sunshineflying



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 02:51:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3471632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineflying/pseuds/sunshineflying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hi,” he said while flashing Louis the brightest smile Louis had ever seen. “I’m Liam.”<br/>“Liam, you said?” Louis asked, pulled from his staring quite suddenly by the man’s low, smooth voice. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Louis.”<br/>“Pleasure,” Liam said as he reached out to shake Louis’s hand.<br/>Louis glanced down, and then he turned his gaze back up to Liam as he smirked and quipped, “You’re supposed to kiss me, not shake my hand.”<br/>“Not one for taking it slow, are you?” Liam asked with amusement.<br/>“I’ve never been a patient one.”</p><p>OR, a uni AU inspired by the "strangers kissing" YouTube video.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Time's the Charm

**Author's Note:**

> First off, just in case anyone is unfamiliar with the "strangers kissing" YouTube video, it can be viewed [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbDHxCV29A). I know some people feel strongly about its truthfulness but I took the video for what it was -- inspiration.
> 
> NOW for the big thanks:  
> First off, I really just want to give a MASSIVE shout out and thank you to my artist, Maria (liloson on Tumblr, lopolvo on LJ). Her work is absolutely phenomenal and I'm so excited to have had her as an artist for my work. Maria -- you're fabulous and so, so talented. Thank you so much!  
> I also would like to thank my wonderful beta and Brit-picker Rachael (naughtyelf on LJ), who tackled my terrible, wordy writing for the second year in a row. I couldn't have produced a final product I was proud of without your wonderful help, so thank you so much!
> 
> Accompanying art can be found [here](http://liloson.tumblr.com/post/112573874313/title-second-times-the-charm-author).

“I thought you said you were going to try to get out more? Meet new people?”

Dark haired, striking brown-eyed Zayn Malik stood at the foot of his roommate’s bed, watching him expectantly for his response. They’d been roommates for about a year now, having first met when they were assigned randomly to the same room the previous year. Now in their second year of uni, the two of them were best friends and had chosen to live together once more.

However, it was clear that Louis Tomlinson, the loud, boisterous roommate with whom Zayn had chosen to spend a second year, wasn’t having this whole uni thing. He thought himself above most of the people, who tended to irritate him, and not only that but the coursework was a lot more than he wanted to handle. Not even a lesser course load had helped him; he still barely managed to make the minimum grades he’d needed to keep his spot in the school.

“I don’t want to meet new people,” Louis whined as he lounged on his bed, rolling his eyes at his roommate. “They’re idiots.”

“Most of ‘em, yeah,” Zayn nodded. “But there are a few good lads out there.”

Louis scoffed. His arms stayed propped behind his head as he watched Zayn trudge across the room towards his desk. Zayn actually used his desk for more than just storage, unlike Louis. Rather, Zayn studied at his while Louis let papers from classes pile up and fall off at random whenever the wind caught it. Zayn’s side of the room was neat and tidy compared to Louis’s, and it was the only point of contention between the two.

Zayn constantly tried to get Louis to clean, or to study, or in the present case, to meet more people. “Look, the reason you’re so bored all the time is because you wait around for _me_ ,” Zayn pointed out. “You and I are best mates, yeah, but I study. If you’re not going to study, find other people to help fill your time.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me, Malik?” Louis teased, rolling to his side to prop up on his elbow.

He faced Zayn, who was nose deep in his literature anthology. Zayn didn’t speak for a moment, but he could feel Louis’s eyes boring into his back and he sighed with exasperation before sitting up and turning to face him. “Look, Lou. I don’t want to get rid of you. That’s not what this is about.” Zayn turned to face Louis properly, his arm draped over the back of his chair. “It’s just that you’re kind of throwing this all away. If you’d just study and meet more people than only me, you’d be happier and far less stressed.”

Louis snorted. “Less stressed by actually _doing_ homework? Makes no sense.”

“I mean it. You put everything off until the last minute when you could just do it now and be done with it,” Zayn explained. “Haven’t you even got _one_ person on your course that you could hang out with?”

“ _You’re_ on my course,” Louis said as though it were obvious. “Why would I need anyone else?”

“You know full well why,” Zayn quipped.

He and Louis fixed each other with hard stares for a moment before Louis sighed and hopped off his bed. “Fine,” he shrugged, sliding on his ratted black Vans. “I’m going to go make friends, then. Don’t come crying to me when suddenly I don’t have enough time for you.”

“Lou, don’t be like that,” Zayn protested as he watched Louis pull on his vintage windbreaker. “I’m not trying to get rid of you. You _know_ that.”

“I’m just following _your_ advice,” Louis replied.

He stared down at Zayn as he pulled a beanie onto his head, covering his slightly-greasy hair, and he brushed a hand over his facial hair as he waited for Zayn to break the silence. Zayn watched Louis closely; he’d learned early on to tell the difference between Louis being pissed off and Louis being mischievous.

The smirk and mirth that grew on his face with each tension-filled second told Zayn that Louis was _definitely_ just being mischievous.

“Fine,” Zayn shrugged. “Go make some new friends, then.”

“Don’t miss me too much,” Louis teased as he smirked devilishly.

He fished his phone, keys, and wallet off his incredibly messy desk and stuffed them into his pockets before traipsing out of the door without so much as a glance back over his shoulder. Zayn sighed and shook his head – this would _not_ end well.

Louis took the stairs instead of waiting for the lift with the annoying crowd of girls queued in front of it, and when he reached the front door of the building he was happy to step out into the brisk autumn air.

He actually quite enjoyed autumn in London, if he was being totally honest. It wasn’t so cold that his nose would lose feeling and turn all pink, but it wasn’t so hot that he’d get those embarrassing sweat marks under his arms. Autumn was even better than spring because it tended to be just a tad bit drier than spring, and in London, that was a big deal.

Louis moved without a general direction in mind, and somewhere in the middle of the square he decided to wander into the nearest building in search of someone that would put up with his tetchy mood. He walked slowly, eyes lingering on each wall hanging and bulletin board flyer.

**Join the Literary League today!**

**Education Students needed!**

**Looking for a great summer job? Look no further!**

At the end of the main hallway, Louis spotted a girl looking rather frantic and rushed. “’ello there love, what seems to be the problem?” Louis asked.

He still hadn’t decided if he wanted to genuinely befriend this harried-looking girl, or to taunt her over whatever it was that had her so distressed, but either way he’d caught her attention. Now the brown-eyed brunette was looking down at her clipboard and then back up at Louis. She bit her lip before asking, “Are you busy right now?”

“Not at all. What’s your name?” Louis said smoothly, something between a smirk and a smile caught upon his lips.

“I’m Eleanor,” she said, her words as frantic as she looked. “Would you like to help with a psychology study? It’s not paid or anything, but we’ve had somebody drop out at the last minute and we _need_ another male. Are you between the ages of twenty and thirty?”

“Slow down there, love,” he said with amusement. “Breathe. I’m twenty, and sure, I’ll help you out. What do I have to do?”

She bit her lip and flushed pink upon her cheeks before she confessed. “You’ve got to kiss someone. A total stranger.”

Those certainly weren’t the words Louis was expecting to hear, but anything involving kissing couldn’t be all that bad. More than anything, Louis just hadn’t expected those words out of the mouth of such an innocent-looking girl. She was tall and thin, and she chewed on the cap of her pen as she asked, “What’s your name? I’ll write you down here and then you can start. It’s filmed as well, if that’s okay.”

“Sure, no problem,” Louis nodded, the scenario getting more interesting by the second. She handed him the clipboard, and as he scribbled down his name, age, birthdate, and student ID number, he asked, “So what kind of kissing are we talking here? Man, woman, animal?”

“It’s totally random. There’s a room on either side of where we’re filming, and we’ll send you both in at the same time,” Eleanor explained as she stood on tip-toes to peek over the edge of the clipboard to be sure Louis was filling out the form correctly. “From there you just… interact until you feel ready to kiss. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Then just… kiss. See what happens. You’ll only be paired with a man or woman, though. No animals.”

She laughed a little at how absolutely ridiculous those words sounded, and took the clipboard as Louis handed it back to her. “When do we do this?” Louis asked.

“You can queue up right over here,” Eleanor instructed, leading him to a little office to one side of a classroom.

People were being let through one by one, whenever the last couple finished. “Can I ask what exactly the point of this is?” Louis asked with intrigue.

“Well, we’re studying body language, attraction, and chemistry. Just before you go in, we’ll snap a Polaroid of you,” she explained. “We then map your facial features against stereotypical ideas of beauty, and then take that into account when analyzing the chemistry, or lack of chemistry, in the kiss.” Eleanor glanced down at her forms and then said, “Oh! There’s one more thing I needed to ask you. How would you identify yourself when it comes to your sexual orientation?”

“Eh,” Louis shrugged. “Not overly bothered either way? That’s an option on your little form thing, right?”

“Of course,” Eleanor nodded as she ticked a box. “We take this into consideration as well when we’re analyzing our data. I’ll put ‘pansexual’.”

“Interesting. And what’s the point of all this, aside from watching a ton of people kiss?” Louis wondered.

“We’re just trying to figure out if there’s any correlation between a person’s appearance and immediate chemistry with another person. Sort of like a ‘love at first sight’ thing,” she told him. “I’m an assistant on the project, but I find it fascinating.”

Louis nodded and admitted, “As do I.”

“You’re next up. We should get your photo,” she said, putting down her clipboard so she could grab the Polaroid camera instead.

Eleanor held it up and said, “Just a blank facial expression for the first, and then we’re going to take one of you smiling. So… blank first. Ready?” Louis relaxed all his facial muscles and waited for the click, and then he flashed the best smile he could until he heard the next click.

As she lowered the camera, Louis asked, “Did I do alright? Did I pass the first round?”

Eleanor laughed as she nodded and said, “You did great. You get rewarded with a kiss. Now… go on. Get your kiss and have fun.”

She opened the door and let Louis through. He wandered into a brightly lit room with a full white backdrop and several cameras facing them. The girl in charge of the whole assignment must have been the one in the room, because she was tense and bossy. She practically pushed Louis and the other person – a man – onto a center mark on the flooring. “There we go. You two both know what we need you to do?” she asked. Both nodded. “Alright, go.”

Louis turned to get a proper look at the man facing him. _Fuck_ he is fit, Louis thought. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from this man stood in front of him. He had scruff along his chin, a well-kept moustache as well, and he was a couple inches taller than Louis. With hair back in a perfect quiff, the guy looked like the embodiment of a young David Beckham.

“Hi,” he said while flashing Louis the brightest smile Louis had ever seen. “I’m Liam.”

“Liam, you said?” Louis asked, pulled from his staring quite suddenly by the man’s low, smooth voice. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Louis.”

“Pleasure,” Liam said as he reached out to shake Louis’s hand.

Louis glanced down, and then he turned his gaze back up to Liam as he smirked and quipped, “You’re supposed to kiss me, not shake my hand.”

“Not one for taking it slow, are you?” Liam asked with amusement.

“I’ve never been a patient one.”

Louis shrugged and took a step closer to Liam, now very obviously within his comfort zone. They were toe to toe and Louis kept looking up through his eyelashes at this new, incredibly attractive guy. Liam’s expression emanated confidence, but his body language was the exact opposite. “Well, ever kissed a bloke before, Liam?” Louis asked.

“No,” Liam confessed as he shook his head. “Have you?”

“Loads,” Louis nodded.

“Is it nice?” Liam blurted out.

Louis chuckled dryly for a moment before he shrugged and reached out for Liam’s hands. It had to be clear to everyone by this point that Louis was very much attracted to Liam. Whether Liam felt the same sort of attraction was still up in the air, but they’d soon answer that.

“Well, why don’t you kiss me and find out?”

Liam smirked right back at Louis as he responded to the touch of Louis’s hands against his. Their fingers threaded together and Louis was surprised when Liam didn’t get aggressive with him. He looked so strong and dominant, with his muscular biceps and the toned abs and pectorals Louis could barely make out through his thin gray shirt.

“Are you going to make _me_ kiss _you_?” Louis asked, his eyebrow cocked up as he watched Liam with interest.

“Why? Would you?” Liam wondered.

He stepped closer to Louis, his feet steadied outside of where Louis’s were planted, and he had just as much mischief aimed right back at Louis.

Suddenly feeling incredibly sexually frustrated with Liam’s warm body just barely brushing against his own smaller, lithe body, Louis wanted this. He wanted Liam’s lips on his like, _yesterday_. “You smug bastard,” Louis muttered.

His hands let go of Liam’s in favor of holding him by his cheeks and pulling him down the short distance that was left between their faces. Their lips crashed together but Louis was quick to correct, letting his lips settle just below Liam’s. Louis felt the scruff on Liam’s face brushing against his own, and he’d never expected such a thing to take his breath away.

Liam’s hands were big, bigger than Louis expected, and they held him at the small of his back to pull their bodies together from head to toe. Louis’s arms slid around Liam’s neck and he let his fingers slide into the hair that had looked so perfect before. Now everyone who saw them when they finished would know _exactly_ what had gone on. Just the thought had Louis smiling into the kiss.

They were perfect strangers, and it should have been weird. Louis should have felt more reservations before even signing up to do such a thing, but this was impulsive. He _loved_ impulsive.

He also loved the way Liam kissed, encompassing all of his senses and making Louis dizzy with it all. Liam’s lips felt amazing; they were plump but he wasn’t sloppy, and he tasted like a mix of mint and chocolate and something unidentifiable. He smelled like expensive cologne and he had an ability to blur Louis’s mind so all Louis focused on was _LiamLiamLiam_.

Liam wrapped his arms further around Louis’s waist and pressed into the kiss, Louis’s back arching backwards as their bodies pressed impossibly close together. Louis’s fingers were still tangled in Liam’s hair, tugging gently as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding over Liam’s lower lip.

Slowly, Liam pulled away, drawing a whimper out of Louis. That put a smile on his face, and when he opened his eyes and watched Louis’s flutter open as well, it gave him a weird twisting in his gut. “How was that for your first kiss with a bloke?” Louis asked, his voice tender and soft. He was still so caught off guard by how good the kiss had been, he wasn’t back to his usual volume.

Liam couldn’t fight his smile as he said, “It was good. Really good.”

“Of course it was,” Louis replied confidently.

The girl in charge of the study was rushing them off set, and Louis rolled his eyes as he was ushered out the door he’d come through. He’d wanted to speak to Liam longer, maybe ask him to hang out, but in the mess of the study participants dispersing, he’d lost him.

With a frown now etched on his face, Louis trudged back to his room, stopping to grab some fish and chips for himself and Zayn on the way back.

Walking into his room, he saw Zayn with his nose _still_ firmly planted in his book. Louis sighed and rolled his eyes. “Going to take a break to have some dinner with me?” Louis asked, dropping one package of fish and chips unceremoniously on the desk where Zayn was reading.

“Just a minute,” Zayn mumbled.

Louis sat down and waited for Zayn to finish his page. Once the book was closed, Louis was opening his fish and chips so he could start building his chip butty. “Thanks,” Zayn said as he turned in his chair and opened his own. “How was your afternoon? Meet anyone?”

“I did, yeah,” Louis nodded.

“You were only gone an hour,” Zayn pointed out.

“It didn’t take long.”

Louis looked like he’d been up to a whole lot of trouble, so Zayn wasn’t sure what to expect – or if he even wanted to know. His curiosity got the best of him though, so he blurted out, “What did you do?”

Louis looked satisfied and smug as he replied, “I had a nice snog.”

Zayn looked baffled. “You went out to meet people, were gone for an hour, and you managed to snog someone?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Louis replied simply.

“Who?”

Louis grinned. “His name was Liam, and he’s well fit,” he explained.

“And you managed to talk this Liam bloke into snogging you?” Zayn asked, still disbelieving the whole story.

“Well, yeah. Like that’s hard to do?” Louis replied simply. He could see the confusion on Zayn’s face and he loved it.

“C’mon Lou. Tell me the truth.”

Louis rolled his eyes and sighed. “You’re no fun,” he pouted. He stuffed a few chips in his mouth before he said, “I wandered into some random building I’d never been to before, spotted a girl, and she asked me to be in her psychology experiment. I agreed, and next thing I know I’m kissing a stranger on camera.”

“ _Truth_ , Lou.”

“That _is_ the truth!” Louis shrieked. “They were measuring if love at first sight is a real thing… or something.” Louis waved it off and said, “He’d never kissed a guy before. I dunno if he’s into guys at all, honestly. But he’s fucking _ace_ at kissing.”

“Real nice, Louis,” Zayn rolled his eyes. “Are you going to see him again, then?”

“Dunno,” Louis shrugged. “I didn’t exactly get a chance to ask for his number… the girl running the thing was really fucking impatient. I couldn’t find him afterwards.”

Zayn sighed and leaned back in his chair dramatically with exasperation. “So you’re no better off than you were when you left,” he said.

Louis laughed and said, “But at least I got a good snog!”

“A shag would have done you a bit better.”

Louis’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as his jaw dropped and he looked scandalized. Zayn just laughed because on some level, it was true. Louis was always incredibly placid and calm after he hooked up with someone. Zayn had learned that from a whole year of living with Louis.

Laughing, Zayn shook his head. The story sounded insane, but he didn’t expect anything less than this from Louis. Instead of arguing or trying to tell Louis that maybe that _wasn’t_ what he’d meant for him to do when he said Louis should go make more friends, he instead just sighed and asked, “Well? Tell me about him. Do you _want_ to see him again?”

“Obviously,” Louis replied with a roll of his eyes. “I wanted his number, after all.”

“Right, how could I forget,” Zayn chuckled.

Louis’s eyes narrowed, because there was something in Zayn’s voice he hadn’t heard in a while. _Judgment_. He leaned forward in his chair and set his fish and chips precariously on his messy desk as he asked, “Got a problem with how I’ve spent my afternoon?”

“Not at all,” Zayn replied, shrugging. “It got you out of my hair for an hour.”

“Rude.”

But Louis sat back and returned to his food, Zayn got started on his own, and already everything was behind them. They weren’t angry at each other, and Louis even had the smallest trace of a smile on his face.

What Zayn didn’t realise until later was that he’d apparently opened quite the can of worms by telling Louis to go out and meet new people. Soobn all he talked about was Liam. Apparently, he was everywhere; in the dining hall, in the student union, _everywhere_. Louis came home practically every day touting another Liam appearance. Finally, Zayn snapped and asked, “Why don’t you get his number next time you see him?”

“If he wanted my number, he’d ask for it.”

“Or maybe he doesn’t know he can have it,” Zayn tried. “From what I can tell, _you’re_ the bold one in your relationship. Or, y’know, the lack of relationship.”

“Oh, it’s there. I felt chemistry,” Louis said confidently.

Zayn shook his head and turned back to yet another large tome, probably for his Shakespeare module. He was _always_ reading; it was no wonder he’d wanted Louis to find people to hang out with aside from just him.

Louis finally got his wish when he was walking to his education lecture on a random Thursday morning. He turned a corner, collided with something thick and heavy, and before he knew it his senses were filled with that familiar cologne and he felt those large, strong hands on his body again. _Liam_. Louis looked up through long eyelashes to see the exact man he’d been hoping to run into, although perhaps not quite so literally.

Liam caught him and kept him from falling, and Louis flushed red as he smiled and said, “H-hi.”

“Hi there,” Liam smiled.

When Louis was steady on his feet, Liam slowly released his hold. He stepped back and looked down at Louis.

“How have you been, Liam? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Liam nodded and smiled as he replied, “Good. I’ve been really good. You?”

“I’ve been alright,” Louis shrugged. He paused before he said, “So… the other day.”

“Yeah… it was interesting, huh?” Liam laughed.

Louis raised an eyebrow as he fixed Liam with a calculating gaze. _Interesting_? Of all the words to use, he chose _interesting_? Louis laughed nervously and nodded as he said, “Yeah… it was definitely interesting.” Throwing caution to the wind, he said, “It was _so_ interesting I wouldn’t mind repeating it.”

Liam’s smile faltered and he asked, “O-oh… you would?”

Louis nodded and he saw the way Liam looked flushed and a bit wary, but he just assumed it was nerves. “Yeah,” Louis nodded. “It was fun.” His words were simple, matter-of-fact. He had nothing to hold back. “I’d definitely do it again.”

Shocked with how forward Louis was being, Liam wasn’t quite sure how to reply. “Well, I…”

“Can I get your number?” Louis asked, his voice soft and coy in that way he knew guys liked. They found it cute and attractive, and he’d use it if it meant getting Liam’s number.

Louis was so caught up in Liam’s scent and appearance and the memory of his lips on Louis’s that he didn’t realize Liam was _definitely_ uncomfortable. Louis pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Liam so he could type in his name and number. Liam, always one for manners and politeness, typed in his number.

“Thanks,” Louis smiled. He stepped back, letting Liam breathe in the extra space he’d provided him. “I’ll text you later?”

“Sure,” Liam nodded. Flashing Louis his best smile, he said, “Cool. I’ll talk to you later then.”

“Definitely,” Louis grinned.

He stepped to his left and then took off down the hallway, leaving Liam frowning and watching Louis’s confident, boisterous form retreat down the hallway.

It only took a few hours before Louis gave in and pulled out his phone to send a text message to Liam.

_lecture classes are so boringgg!_

Louis smiled when his phone buzzed with a reply just a few moments later.

_try sitting thru business proposals ewwwww_

Liam must have known who it was, or he didn’t care, but he didn’t ask once who it was that he was talking to.

They talked about their courses, their modules, their families… Louis was grinning the whole time and when Zayn walked into the room that evening he just shook his head. He knew exactly who it was Louis was talking to, and it made him really happy to see his best friend so excited about something for once.

When Zayn left again to meet a friend in the library to study, Louis kicked off his shoes and relaxed on his bed as he asked: _so are u a guy who likes the gym or was i just imagining those muscles?_

 **Liam:** _yea i go to the gym, why?_

**Louis:** _can i see??? :)_

Louis’s heart raced in his chest as he waited… and waited and waited. Finally, he saw a photo pop up on his screen and he licked his lips. Liam was really built, and Louis could appreciate that. He saw his abs, the strong pecs he’d noticed when they were making out for the study, and his arms… _fuck_ , his arms. Or arm, rather, since only one was in shot.

 **Liam:** _u like????_

**Louis:** _i doooo. i bet u look even better in person_

**Liam:** _teaseeee!! don’t i get a picture of u??_

Louis grinned mischievously as he typed out his reply.

 **Louis:** _only if u tell me what u want to see ;)_

As Louis watched those dreaded dots on the screen of his iPhone, his heart thrummed with anticipation. Liam could say anything – _anything_ – and Louis would take a photo for him. The fact that they were even doing this was a big deal. Louis had never sent photos like this, not even when he’d been sexting with people in the past. It was always words, not pictures, that got them off.

Finally, the dots disappeared and a message popped up on the screen.

 **Liam:** _i wanna see your bum ;)_

Louis giggled a little – actually _giggled_ – and slowly kicked off his sweats. His boxers were still covering the plump round curve of his perfect bum, but he loved the way Liam had said that instead of ass. Something about it was so innocent and cute. Louis decided to tease, and he typed out a message as he slowly slid off his boxers.

 **Louis:** _why, u wanna imagine what i’d let u do to it?_

Just as he was about to click the camera icon on the screen of his phone, Liam’s reply popped up. Louis grinned like the Cheshire cat as he read it.

 **Liam:** _yesssssss :)_

Louis laid on his stomach on the bed, naked from head to toe now. He held the phone at an angle so Liam would be able to see Louis’s shoulder, the curve of his back, and the way it swelled into his perfect bum. It looked bigger from this angle and Louis knew it would drive Liam crazy.

His heart raced with nervous excitement as he pressed send, and he checked four times to make sure that he’d sent the photo to the right person before he saw the little dots on his screen, showing that Liam was typing again.

**Liam:** _u are so perfecttttt_

Louis smirked and wanted so badly to reply with _I know_ , but instead he typed out a different message.

 **Louis:** _how badly do u want my bum right now? ;)_

He had an indication of how much he was driving Liam crazy, and that only made him grin wider. He was half-hard and a chill shot down his spine as he read Liam’s reply and wondered what would happen if they were right there with each other.

 **Liam:** _so badlyyyyy. u have no idea!_

Deciding to go for broke and take a risk, Louis quickly typed out a reply.

 **Louis:** _my roommate is out if u wanna visit me ;)_

Never before had Louis felt so reckless and nervous. He stared at his screen, waiting impatiently for Liam’s answer. There were no dots, no “message read” inscription below the message he’d just sent, and for a moment he thought he’d gone too far.

When the dots appeared, Louis let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and he anxiously waited to see what he said.

**Liam:** _i wish I could!!! :(_

Confused, Louis typed out a quick reply.

 **Louis:** _why can’t u?_

 **Liam:** _house meetinggg :( its my turn to lead it_

 **Louis:** _too bad. another time then?_

Louis bit his lip, sensing that his message maybe sounded a bit more angry and frustrated than he’d meant for it to sound. He rolled onto his back and thought the situation over in his head as he waited for Liam’s reply.

 **Liam:** _pleaseeee? dont be mad, im sorry!!_

Slowly, Louis slid his hand down his stomach and grasped his cock with a loose grip, stroking it a few times to bring it to full hardness. With a smirk on his face, he aimed his phone just right and took a photo to send to Liam with a caption that read: _im not mad, just lonely ;)_

**Liam:** _fuckkkkkkkkkkkk_

Louis felt exhilarated after sending his first dick pic and his eyes fluttered closed. He tossed his phone to the side in favor of sliding a hand over his torso while the other worked his hardness slowly. He dragged his thumb over his nipple, moaning softly at the sensation it sent through his body. Then he let that same hand drift downwards as he stroked faster, moaning a little louder until he dipped his hand low enough to rub his finger gently over his hole. He gasped and then let out a low, throaty moan.

All it took was Louis thinking back to that kiss for the experiment and the way Liam had turned him on just from a _kiss_ , along with the mental image that photo of his abs and arms Liam had sent, and suddenly he was on the edge between pleasure and absolute bliss.

When Louis let go and came, he spurted come on his hand as he moaned, Liam’s name slipping out between curse words. He was a mess, but he felt more sated than he had in a long time. He smiled, satisfied, and grabbed his boxers to wipe up before he rolled off of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. He felt more optimistic and happy than he had in a long while.

The next day, after a full day of classes and work, he plopped down on his bed and groaned with frustration. When he rolled over to look at Zayn and chide him for reading at such a late hour on what was practically the weekend, he paused. Zayn _wasn’t_ reading. “Hold on… has the world ended? You’re not holding a book. Ladies and gentlemen, Zayn Malik without a book!” Louis shrieked, jumping off the bed to rush over to Zayn. He held his hand to his forehead and asked, “Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“Oh, fuck off,” Zayn muttered, pushing Louis’s hand away from his head. “It’s a Thursday night and I haven’t got reading due until Monday. I heard about a party, I thought we could go.”

“You’re inviting me to a party? How romantic!” Louis teased.

Zayn smacked Louis’s hands away as Louis tried to hug him and he mimed giving him big kisses. “Just… are we going, or not?”

“Depends on where it is,” Louis teased.

He was already replacing his textbooks with liquor bottles, his backpack suddenly heavier but filled much more to Louis’s tastes. Smugly, he looked up at Zayn and asked, “I’m ready to go, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am,” he said, lifting his own bag to slide on his back.

“Where’s the party?” Louis asked curiously as they walked out the door. I was always so easy to go out to parties with Zayn; he heard about the best ones, and they had a really great time – especially when Zayn got his hands on some spliff.

Zayn shook his head and said, “You’re being impatient. Calm down and just follow me.”

“Bossy. You’re no fun.”

“Y’know, for how much you say that, you’d think I was your dad, not your roommate,” Zayn quipped.

Louis laughed at that, and he elbowed Zayn as he said, “But really. Tell me where we’re going.”

“No.”

For most of the walk Louis begged Zayn and tried to bribe him to tell him where they were going. He tossed rocks and sticks at him, tried to trip him, tried to steal his backpack – Louis was _definitely_ the mature one, after all (or at least that’s what _he’d_ insist).

When they stopped outside a massive, towering building with Greek letters on the side, Louis laughed and mocked, “There’s no way you brought me to a _frat party_.”

Zayn shrugged. “Nobody mentioned anything about a fraternity. I didn’t even know we had them here.”

Louis sighed and put on an uncomfortable face that looked like he was bracing himself for the worst. He didn’t think he’d fit in with the type of guys usually seen in fraternities. He was under the impression they were pompously athletic and usually homophobic, the worst combination to face Louis, who was a proud pansexual football player. The combination only grew worse at the fact that Louis tended to get promiscuous when he had a few drinks in him.

“Fine. For you. I’ll go in for you,” Louis sighed.

“If it’s lame, we’ll leave,” Zayn conceded. “But one of my mates told me about this so I want to check it out, go say hi to him or whatever.”

“One of your _mates_? You know more people than just _me_? Who’d ever want to do _that_?” Louis mocked.

Zayn smacked him flat in the chest and told him to shut it as he knocked on the door before he stepped inside. A tall, curly-haired brunette man walked up to them with a huge, dimpled, glowing smile on his face. He greeted Zayn with a hug, and then turned his attention to Louis. “You must be Louis,” he said in his low, soothing voice. “Zayn’s told me all about you. I’m Harry.”

“Hiya, Harry,” Louis said curtly, holding out his hand only to be rejected in favor of a hug.

This taller lad was lanky and wore the tightest trousers Louis had ever seen along with the strangest eccentrically patterned button-down shirt, only done up halfway. His shirt revealed the many tattoos underneath, and his hat kept his long hair out of his face. “Come on in, we’ve got a bar set up in the kitchen,” Harry said. “Help yourself.”

“Booze. _Fantastic_ ,” Louis smiled. Any house with free booze was good with him.

Zayn and Louis walked to the kitchen as Harry greeted the girls that came to the door after them. As they walked, Louis hissed, “Where did you meet _that_ hippy?”

“He’s an education major, just like you and me,” he explained. “He’s a first year but he’s in one of my literature classes. The one with children’s lit? Since his focus is early childhood, he’s taking it this year.”

“Oh,” Louis said, the details lost on him. Louis hadn’t chosen a specific field for his degree, so he was taking mostly core classes and didn’t have the option to overlap with others with his interests. Not that he ever went to class enough to meet people, anyway.

Zayn grabbed a cup and poured out some whiskey over ice. At his side, Louis poured himself some soda and loaded it with whatever liquor was closest, which turned out to be tequila. “That’s dangerous,” Zayn commented. “You know what happens when you drink tequila.”

“My clothes are staying on, thank you.”

Harry wandered into the room with an incredibly handsome man at his side. “Hey guys,” he said with a smile as he interrupted their conversation. “I want you to meet Liam. He’s the president of the society.”

Louis turned and stared as he took in the sight of Liam in nothing but a tight tank top and jeans, and Zayn laughed at his side. “Hi,” Liam smiled to both of them before opting to pull a beer from the fridge.

Before he could say any more, he was distracted by a beautiful brunette in a black dress who was asking him something about his studies. Zayn leaned over and whispered in Louis’s ear, “Your clothes are _definitely_ not staying on tonight.”

Flushed, Louis scowled at Zayn but couldn’t keep his focus away for long. He turned to look at Liam again, who was talking to the brunette and now a second girl; presumably she was friends with the first, because they looked quite close. “I’m actually going to go _talk_ to people. If you want to stand around all night waiting for him to read your mind, be my guest,” Zayn teased.

He wandered across the room to greet an incredibly loud blonde guy who kept laughing and singing along drunkenly to the music. “Bastard,” Louis muttered, watching Zayn fit easily in with the whole crowd.

How could someone who seemed to always have their nose in a book have so many friends? Zayn wasn’t even that talkative. He was quiet and observant and that’s why he and Louis _fit_. But now he was blending into a crowd but holding his own and not getting lost in the mass of people and Louis would never admit that he felt rather jealous. What Zayn did was none of his business and he could hang out with anyone he wanted.

“I have to admit, I never thought I’d see you here, in my house.”

Louis spun around to find himself face to face with Liam. He looked pleasantly surprised, and Louis was grappling for words. “I never thought I’d make out with a frat boy,” Louis said lamely.

Liam’s smile spread across his face, the fondness sparkling in his eyes as the corners crinkled. His whole face was happiness, and Louis got lost in it for a moment before he registered what Liam had said. “I didn’t think it was relevant information at the time.”

Louis laughed. “You’re full of big words tonight, frat president. Less thinking, more drinking,” Louis said, guiding the cup Liam held in his hand up to Liam’s mouth, urging him to drink. Louis had millions of questions about why there was a fraternity in the first place, who started it, why Liam is president, he could go on. But not tonight.

Liam laughed and acquiesced, taking a long dreg of his beer before he focused his gaze back on Louis. “I can’t believe I actually kissed you,” he confessed.

“Why not? Is it so crazy?” Louis wondered.

“Well, yeah,” Liam shrugged.

“Oh come off it, Liam,” Louis said, waving off his reticence as he took another drink. “It was your first kiss with a guy but that’s not really a big deal, is it? A kiss is a kiss.”

“It felt like more.”

Louis faltered and fixed his gaze on Liam with a curious look in his eye. “Would you do it again?” Louis asked.

Liam hesitated, but after a moment’s thought he nodded and said, “Y-yeah, I suppose I would. Just with you, though.”

“Why only me?”

Laughter filled the air before Liam said, “Because you’d have my head on a platter if it was with anyone else, am I right?”

“That’s beside the point,” Louis replied, amusement in his voice.

“Finish your drink and we can go upstairs for a bit. Y’know. Hang out,” Liam instructed casually.

Louis looked down into his cup and then back up at Liam. He knew full well how drunk and handsy he’d be if he finished off his drink so fast, but what fun was a party unless he let go and had a questionable amount of alcohol in his body? He tipped his cup back and chugged the disgusting mix until it was gone. Tossing the cup aside, Louis asked, “Well? Are you going to do the same?”

Liam chugged down the rest of his beer and then looked over at Louis. “My room?”

“Yes,” Louis grinned.

Louis followed Liam through the old, creak house until they reached the top floor. The bedroom at the end of the hall was the only one without any posters or signs on it, and when they walked in Louis blurted out, “It’s huge!”

Liam laughed as he closed the door behind him, letting Louis take a look at the master bedroom that Liam was apparently entitled to as the president of the society. He had a plush king-sized bed in the middle, some posters of football players and some bands along the walls, and his homework neatly stacked on his desk.

Liam waited until Louis had finished staring before he said, “You’re the most interesting person I’ve met on this campus so far, d’you know that?”

“Of course,” Louis replied simply. His words were slurring together a little bit, but he was still the smirking, confident lad he’d been all along. “I’m the most interesting person you’ll meet _ever_.”

Liam rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed. Louis, allowing the alcohol to guide his actions, walked towards him and climbed up to straddle his lap. Liam looked surprised, but he didn’t move away (not that he could). He looked up at Louis asked, “Y’alright?”

“I’m great,” Liam said with a smile.

He trailed his fingers through Liam’s hair, the strands falling from the gelled quiff Liam must have had it in all day. All he could hear was the sound of their breathing, Louis’s already labored as he watched the way Liam’s eyes darkened, felt the way Liam’s hands held him there on his lap, a sturdy promise that he wanted Louis there.

Louis’s heart was pounding hard, threatening to burst out of his chest, and he draped his arms over Liam’s shoulders as he leaned in. Their noses bumped, but Louis didn’t close the distance. He just let his breath puff out and mix with Liam’s, the warmth upon his lips a reminder that Liam was still there, was still close. He leaned his forehead against Liam’s, but their lips still weren’t touching.

Slowly, Liam tipped his head upwards and closed that distance, the tedious desire gone and replaced with fulfillment and _heaven_ and everything they remembered from the first time. Louis exhaled through his nose, the sound the only one in the room as he pressed back against Liam’s lips, his mind suddenly blank as he surrendered to the bliss.

Louis was so tiny in Liam’s arms. His thin, lithe frame was completely encapsulated by Liam’s stronger one, his arms around Louis’s body and his strength far greater than Louis’s. It was a perfect fit, like puzzle pieces.

Their lips shifted, finding a more comfortable position. Where Louis could taste the beer on Liam’s lips but still make out that familiar taste of _Liam_ that he remembered. Louis might have seemed petite but he kissed like he was in charge this time, sucking gently at Liam’s lower lip before grabbing it with his teeth and pulling away. Liam barely had a moment to suck in more breath before their mouths connected again.

Louis was the sexiest kisser Liam had ever met, and he didn’t want this to stop.

He held Louis firmly around his waist with one arm as he stood and turned them, laying Louis down on the bed so he could cover his body with his own. Louis let out a soft moan when he hit the mattress and pillows, but he didn’t let go. He wrapped his legs around Liam’s waist and kept kissing, their lips moving together like their lives depended on it, like they’d _die_ if they didn’t keep kissing.

Feeling the weight and warmth of Liam’s body over his own had Louis desperate for more. Their clothes were in the way and he wanted to be completely surrounded by Liam again, like he’d been when they first kissed. His small fingers tugged desperately at Liam’s tank top until _finally_ it was lying on the floor, forgotten. Louis let his hands wander Liam’s strong torso, memorizing each muscle and groove and bump on his skin.

Liam rocked his hips down in reaction and that drew a moan out of both of their mouths.

“What the _fuck_!?”

Liam shot away from Louis like he was on fire, jumping onto the floor and fumbling for his tank top. Louis laid there on the bed, lips pink and swollen from kissing, eyes squeezed shut for fear of what he might see when he opened them.

“Sophia, I --,”

The brunette from earlier, the one with the long hair and the black dress, was standing in the doorway. Louis was peeking through squinted eyes but one fraction of Liam’s expression had Louis climbing off the bed.

Sophia slapped Liam in the face – _hard_ – and Louis winced at the sound of the impact. “How could you do this to me!? I didn’t even know you were… that you were…,” she stammered, unable to say it.

“I’m not,” Liam pleaded. “You have to believe me. It was just this _thing_. For a psychology study, remember? You said I could do it.”

“This doesn’t look like the psychology department to me,” she snapped, hands on her hips in obvious anger.

Defenses up, Louis turned to Liam and asked, “Who’s this?”

“Oh, _great_ ,” Sophia said with a cruel laugh. “Real nice, Liam.”

“This is Sophia. She’s my… I mean, we’re…” he trailed off.

She held up her hand, a sparking diamond ring situated on her left hand’s fourth finger.

“Oh.”

“Yes, _oh_ ,” she said sarcastically. “Now get out.” Louis turned to make his way towards the door, frustrated with Liam beyond belief. As he was retreating down the hall, he heard Sophia saying, “You’re lucky that I love you and this ring so much, otherwise we’d be done. You had better not let this happen again.”

Downstairs, Louis pushed through the crowd that had gathered until he found his backpack in the kitchen. Zayn was there with Harry and that blonde boy from earlier. “Hey, Louis!” Zayn said with a smile. “This is Niall. He’s one of Harry’s roommates.”

Louis didn’t answer. He just stuffed his bottles together and zipped up his bag so he could leave. He wanted to get as far away from that place and from Liam that he possibly could. It wasn’t _fair_. As Louis was stomping out of the house, Zayn realized he should chase after him. “Louis, wait!” he called out.

But Louis didn’t wait. He didn’t know the way back but he didn’t want to wait for Zayn because that would mean talking about it and it stung too much for him to be willing to do that.

Zayn caught up anyway, though, and Louis sighed when he felt his best friend’s hand in his. “Louis, please, will you just –,”

Louis squeezed Zayn’s hand tight but he didn’t want to talk. He stopped walking but he couldn’t face Zayn. There was no way he could because he was so _embarrassed_. “I just want to go, okay? Please. I want to go home,” Louis begged, his voice trembling and weak.

Zayn watched his friend for a moment, and he could sense the emotions that were built up inside of him. Louis was shaking and his eyes looked shiny in the moonlight. Zayn desperately wanted to know what was going on, but didn’t want to worm it out of Louis when he was so fragile. “Okay. If that’s what you want, Lou,” Zayn nodded. “We’ll talk when I get back, okay?”

“It’s what I want,” Louis said. “But we’re _not_ going to talk about this. There’s absolutely nothing to talk about. Not a thing.”

Zayn sighed. Louis could be so frustratingly stubborn when he wanted to be. “Okay. Not talking,” he agreed.

“Can I please just go home now?” Louis begged.

“Sure,” Zayn nodded. Louis started back down the sidewalk, but he was stopped by Zayn’s voice calling out, “Home is that way.”

Louis turned around to look at where Zayn was pointing. His arm was aimed in the other direction, and even though Louis didn’t want to have any help, he wanted to thank Zayn for that. He would have been wandering all night otherwise. As he walked in the right direction, Louis ended up approaching Zayn. He wrapped him up in a hug and said weakly, “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

Zayn didn’t believe a word of it, but he kept his mouth closed. Louis needed to unwind and come to terms with whatever had him so upset before he ever told Zayn a thing about it.

It would take until Sunday for him to find out what had happened at that party – and he wouldn’t learn it from Louis. After interrogating Harry a bit at tea on Sunday morning, Zayn found out that not only was Liam straight, but he was also engaged and in the midst of planning his wedding to Sophia, who had walked in on Liam and Louis making out.

Once Zayn had all of the facts, he went home to find Louis still in bed, just like he had been since he’d gotten home on Thursday night. He was even wearing the same clothes. “You need a shower and some clean clothes,” Zayn suggested.

“No.”

Zayn sighed and said, “Look, I get it, okay? You’re upset. You have a right to be upset about this.”

“What do you know?” Louis snapped.

“Harry lives with him, d’you think I wouldn’t have found out what happened by now?” Zayn replied. “He’s straight. He’s engaged. And he’s a prick for not telling you any of that before you two made out that night.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m on your side, Louis,” Zayn pleaded. “I want to throttle him _so bad_ because what he did was such a shit thing.”

Louis frowned and burrowed deeper into his blankets. Zayn sat down on the edge of his bed and tried to push the blankets away so he could get a good look at him. “I’m sorry he did that to you, Lou. But please don’t throw away the rest of the term on him. He’s not worth it,” Zayn said softly. “Go have a shower and put on some fresh clothes. I’ll even do your laundry with mine this week.”

That got Louis to open his eyes, and he looked up at Zayn as though now he was considering it. “C’mon, please?” Zayn begged.

Louis slowly sat up. His hair was so greasy it stuck in every which way from where he’d slept on it. “You can get past this,” Zayn insisted. “Just get out of bed and move on with your life. Don’t let him see how he’s hurt you.”

“He _should_ see,” Louis argued. “He should see that he’s a prick and that he hurt me.”

Zayn nodded. “Well, if that’s how you feel then why are you here?” he asked. “You should be out there, showing him what he’s missing out on and what he’s done to you.”

Louis sighed. He knew that Zayn was absolutely right, but following through on it all was much more difficult than just talking about it. Slowly, Louis climbed out of bed and rummaged through is closet for something that didn’t smell bad. He finally found a cleanish pair of joggers and helped himself to one of Zayn’s shirts to pull on as well. “Thanks,” Louis muttered.

Zayn nodded and handed Louis a towel as he wandered out of the room to go have a shower. When he came back, Louis plugged in his phone to see that he’d missed seven calls and thirteen text messages from Liam. “D’you think he’s a bit desperate to talk?” Louis asked, holding up his phone to show Zayn.

Zayn took the phone from him and scrolled through the texts, reading each one before he said, “It really sounds like he’s bent up about it.”

“Good.”

Louis didn’t even so much as reach out to pick up his phone. He didn’t care – he wouldn’t let himself care because if he did, he’d start hurting again. Liam had to be in his past, he had to forget him. If he didn’t, he’d never be able to move on.

That resolution of his was working out all fine and dandy until he nearly collided with Liam in the hallway on his way to his education class again. He scowled at Liam and stepped aside to narrowly miss bumping into him. Liam, however, stepped right into Louis’s way, making escape impossible. “Hey, Louis… I’ve been trying to reach you,” Liam said lamely, holding his upper arms to keep him in place.

Louis shrugged Liam’s hands away and glared at him before he said, “I have to get to class.”

“This’ll only take a second,” Liam insisted.

“I don’t care,” Louis snapped, trying yet again to get away.

Liam sighed and watched Louis stomp away before he had a chance to talk to him. But instead of following him he skipped his own class and waited outside the door for Louis’s class to finish. Louis was the last to leave the room, and he rolled his eyes as he spotted Liam waiting like a lost puppy. “Oh my god, can’t you take a hint?” Louis asked with tense laughter.

Liam followed behind him as Louis stormed down the hallway, unfaltering in his efforts to talk to Louis and explain things. Liam was persistent and it was annoying Louis to no end, so he stopped abruptly and turned angrily on his heel to ask, “Will you please just stop following me? If you haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t have time to talk to lying, cheating pricks like you.”

“Okay,” Liam nodded. “I deserved that.”

“You deserve a lot more,” Louis shot with a glare.

“I know,” Liam agreed. “But can I please, _please_ just talk to you? Ten minutes, and then if you never want to speak to me again, I understand.”

Louis wanted so badly to tell Liam no, to say that he had no interest in hearing Liam’s side of things, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. Liam had hurt him but Louis wanted to know why he’d done it. He’d always had a morbid curiosity in wanting to find out why people didn’t want to keep him around, and this was no exception.

With a sigh, Louis nodded. “Thank you,” Liam said softly. He tried to figure out what Louis was thinking, but found that he couldn’t. “D’you… well, can we go get coffee? Or do you have somewhere to be?”

“I’ll get some tea with you, but only if you’re buying,” Louis replied flatly.

Liam figured he deserved that, so he just nodded and said, “Sure. Yeah, let’s go.”

He led Louis to the café on campus, and after ordering tea for Louis and coffee for himself, he sat down across from Louis. He looked small and a little sickly today, like he hadn’t gotten much sleep or had much to eat in a while. Frowning, Liam watched Louis look at the time. “You have ten minutes, as promised,” Louis instructed.

Liam sighed and tried to figure out where to start. “Look, Louis… I’m engaged.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Louis said as he rolled his eyes.

“I’m engaged because I have to be. Because our parents want us to be,” Liam explained. “It’s sort of been planned since we were kids.”

“That’s disgusting,” Louis commented.

Liam nodded and agreed, “It really is. I’m not attracted to her. I mean, she’s pretty, and I’m not gay or anything, but--,”

“Why do men feel the need to say they’re _not gay_ , like it’s some terrible thing if for one second, someone thought you were gay?” Louis snapped. “Newsflash, Liam, _you kissed me_. A _guy_. You’re not exactly straight. So maybe you’re right and you’re not gay, but you’re not straight so can you stop pretending to be some saint?”

“I’m sorry,” Liam muttered. “It’s just… I don’t know what I am. I don’t know what to _say_. I _know_ I’m not gay, and maybe you’re right, maybe I’m not straight, but I can tell you for sure that I’ve never been attracted to a guy before you. This is new to me, okay? Don’t bite my head off.”

Louis narrowed his eyes at Liam and said, “Alright, so you’re having a crisis over your sexual orientation after that psychology study, and I’ve gotten pulled into your sham of an engagement to ruin it whether I like it or not? Am I missing anything?”

Liam looked pained, like he had something he desperately wanted to say but was afraid of the consequences, and Louis was too irritated to ask about it. Instead of giving any more explanations, Liam just nodded and said, “That’s about it. I… I don’t know what’s going on with me. But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry you’re dragged into it.”

After a sip of tea, Louis looked back up at Liam and studied him for a long moment. He had to decide if it was worth it to believe Liam, to forgive him. He hadn’t sorted anything out in his head yet, so he said, “Alright. Well, thanks for the explanation. I should be going.”

Louis stood, but Liam jumped out of his seat and said, “Wait!” Louis turned. “Are we good?” Liam asked.

With a sigh, Louis rolled his eyes and said, “It’s not that easy. Give me space.”

Liam looked crestfallen at the answer he’d been given, but he nodded and couldn’t argue with Louis. He deserved anything Louis said or did to him because he’d hurt him terribly. “Alright,” Liam said. “I’ll call you later.”

“Great,” Louis replied sarcastically.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and left before Liam could say anything else idiotic or annoying. When Louis got back to his room, he saw that Zayn was already there studying. “Couldn’t find you after class, mate,” Zayn explained as he flipped through one of his textbooks. “Where were you?”

“Liam wanted to talk,” Louis said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh yeah?” Zayn asked, setting his book aside so he could give Louis his full attention. “How’d that go?”

“He had a terrible excuse,” Louis sighed. He flopped down onto his bed and rolled his head to the side so he could face Zayn. “He’s in an engagement because his family decided upon it years ago, and he’s never been attracted to a guy before me so I’m the cause of his big not-gay crisis.”

“Not-gay crisis?” Zayn asked slowly, very confused.

“Yeah,” Louis nodded. “He felt the need to tell me that he’s _not gay_.”

“Well, maybe he’s not,” Zayn suggested.

Louis looked annoyed as he said, “It’s just annoying. It’s just like I told him: he’s obviously not _straight_ , at the very least.”

Zayn studied Louis closely and hesitated before he asked, “Did he tell you anything else? Anything about his relationship with Sophia?”

“No,” Louis said simply. He was about to roll over to take a nap when he paused and asked, “Wait – what do you know that I don’t?”

“Nothing,” Zayn lied. “I was just… curious.”

Louis sat up on the edge of his bed and said, “Bullshit. You obviously know something I don’t. Come on, spill.”

“You have your mind made up about Liam, so what I have to say shouldn’t matter,” he replied. “Honestly, it’s nothing.”

“But there _is_ something,” Louis countered.

Zayn sighed. “Yes. There’s something. But it’s like I said: you’ve already made up your mind about him so why should it matter what I know?”

“Tell me.”

“It’s not going to help,” Zayn told him.

“I don’t care.”

Louis fixed Zayn with his strongest gaze, unfaltering in hopes that it would intimidate Zayn into spilling what he knew. After a long pause, Zayn nodded and said, “Alright. You deserve to know.” He took a deep breath before he told Louis what he wanted to hear. “Sophia has been cheating on him for years. She doesn’t want to marry him any more than he wants to marry her. She wants the money and the status that comes along with marrying him.”

“I don’t get it,” Louis replied. “What makes him so special? He doesn’t seem like he’s of some high status or anything.”

“His family has money. Loads of it. His dad is one of the best financial advisers in the country,” Zayn explained. “Her family has been gaining status but this marriage will really do it for them. Sophia’s dad owns a chain of hotels and if they marry each other, then her family will have the Payne name behind it and suddenly they’ll be able to pull any strings they want. And it means so much to both of their families that they don’t have the heart to call it off.”

“She sounded pretty upset that he was cheating,” Louis argued. “I don’t think she’s as against this marriage as she wants people to believe.”

“It’s the scandal more than anything,” Zayn explained. “It’s the fact that… well…” he hesitated before he finished, “you’re you.”

“Ah,” Louis said curtly. “He can be with whoever he wants as long as it’s a woman. Once he chooses a man she freaks out because of what it could do to his family’s name.”

“Exactly.”

Louis shook his head and looked down at his hands. He frowned and while he was still angry with Liam for lying to him, he could see where he was coming from. There was a lot of pressure on him to do the right thing to help everyone involved. “So what, they have this unwritten agreement that they can sleep around as long as they keep the hookups straight? And they have to go through with this fucking marriage that neither of them want?” Louis asked.

“Basically,” Zayn nodded. “He can’t get out of it without losing everything and ruining both families’ reputations… especially if he ends up with a man.”

“This whole thing is bullshit,” Louis shook his head. “None of this would have happened if you’d just let me get by with you as a friend. All of this ‘meet new people’ and ‘make more friends’ shit has been more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Has it, though?” Zayn wondered.

“Of course it has,” Louis replied instantly.

“You were so happy there, for the few days you knew him before the party. I’d never seen you quite so happy here before,” Zayn explained.

“Well, that’s gone to shit, so his is what we have to deal with now,” Louis shrugged. “He can take his dramatic little life somewhere else because I’m not going to deal with it.”

“Alright, well, we’ll see about that,” Zayn muttered. He turned around to find his book, and once he was sat comfortably at his desk with his homework, he let Louis get back to whatever he’d been about to do.

Louis didn’t see Liam for days after their talk in the café. He wasn’t even going out of his way to avoid him – Liam was just _gone_. Louis would have liked to ask Zayn where he was, since Zayn knew several of the guys living with Liam, but he didn’t want anyone to get the idea in their head that he actually _missed_ him. Louis certainly did not miss Liam; he missed his kisses and his scent and everything about him maybe, but certainly not Liam himself.

Nearly two weeks after Louis sat down and let Liam explain the situation to him, Louis finally saw him again. He and Zayn were at a party, and they were sipping rum by the bonfire when Liam walked by. Sophia was hanging on his arm, and when she spotted Louis she fixed him with the strongest glare he’d ever seen. Liam didn’t even notice him until she hissed something in his ear.

Annoyed, Louis turned to Zayn and said, “You never told me he’d be here.”

“I didn’t know,” Zayn admitted.

Louis narrowed his eyes as though he didn’t believe him, but arguing wouldn’t get him anywhere. Instead, he just sighed and accepted the answer, deciding instead to tip his cup back and empty it down his throat. Then he reached for the bottle of rum and started to drink straight from it, his hand clasped firmly around the neck of the bottle.

“Lou, don’t,” Zayn warned. “You know that’ll end badly.”

“I don’t care. I’m at a party, I want to have fun,” Louis replied.

A blonde man full of laughter walked out to join them by the bonfire, and Louis vaguely remembered him from the last party. He introduced himself as Niall, and he had the hipster brunette who’d hugged him, Harry, trailing in his wake. They walked up to Louis and offered him more drinks, but he held up his rum and said he was good. He might have been nearing the threshold between tipsy and drunk, but he could still figure out that Zayn had sent them to try to cheer him up, or at the very least, to give him more friends to talk to.

While he wanted to comment on Zayn’s meddling, he didn’t. Instead, he pacified himself with more to drink.

Louis had to admit that Harry and Niall weren’t as bad as he’d wanted to believe they were. Niall was hilarious, and Harry was actually quite sweet even though his speech patterns tended to make Louis drowsy. They were distracting him from the way he ached in his chest every time he saw Liam and Sophia through the window, cuddled up on the sofa, laughing together. Louis wanted to be bitter, but Niall’s jokes made it impossible. Plus, Harry was sitting rather close to him, which was nice. It made Louis feel warm and special.

When the sun began to rise in the sky, Louis looked around and noticed that Harry was asleep on the massive lawn chair next to him, and Niall and Zayn weren’t laughing as much as they had been – instead, they were just talking and they even looked _serious_ , if it was possible. Louis was ready to fall asleep with his head right there on his new friend Harry’s shoulder, but a shout startled him awake.

“I can’t believe you! I thought you said this was okay?”

It was Liam’s voice, and he wasn’t happy. Louis had a suspicion that he knew what the conversation was about, but he wasn’t going to open his eyes or pry. Instead, he’d just pretend he was asleep – it would be the easier way to eavesdrop, anyway.

“Liam, this would _ruin_ us.”

“It would ruin _you_.”

A pause. “I thought we agreed that I could see other men, you could see other women, and we’d be together for our families,” she said.

“Well why can’t I see a man instead?” Liam asked. His voice was deeper when he was angry – Louis kind of liked it.

“What if someone saw? It’s a lot easier to handle a cheating scandal than a cheating _gay_ scandal,” Sophia argued.

“Nobody would see.”

Sophia laughed. “He hardly seems the type to agree to be your dirty little secret,” she scoffed.

Louis had to hand it to her – she was right about that. Then again, he didn’t know many people who _would_ be okay with being someone’s dirty little secret. It was a degrading thing to be to someone, all things considered. He stayed still and silent as he listened, wondering what Liam would reply to that.

“You don’t know him,” he said lamely. Louis wanted to roll his eyes.

“Well from the sound of it, you don’t either,” she argued. “Look, let’s just pretend this never happened and move on. Our wedding is in a _month_ , Liam.”

“I can’t just pretend this never happened,” Liam pleaded. “Please, Sophia. Just try to understand.”

“Try to understand what? I’ve already accepted that we’re going to have a disappointing marriage. Now I’m supposed to accept that you’re gay and won’t even want me _physically_ anymore?” she asked, and this time it sounded like she was about to cry. Louis could hear the quiver in her voice.

“I’m not gay,” Liam said, his voice soft and tender. “I’ve never been attracted to another man aside from Louis. He’s _different_. We can still be a couple, but… you know our sex is disappointing anyway. Why would it matter if I want you physically?”

“Because at least it means I won’t be alone,” she replied. “What if you find someone who makes you happy and you have your secret relationship and your love and your good sex and I’m left alone? What then?”

More silence. “We’ll still be married,” Liam offered weakly.

Sophia laughed harshly, followed by a sniffle. Yeah, she was definitely crying, Louis concluded. Neither of them spoke for a moment before Liam asked, “What if we just… didn’t get married?”

“We _have_ to. Our families are depending on it,” she argued.

“You know as well as I do that they’d get over it soon enough,” Liam replied.

She sniffled again and said, “But then what do we tell them? You fell in love with someone else?”

“That’s one option, but you know we could always just tell them we’re not in love. That’s a pretty crucial thing to a marriage, isn’t it?” he countered.

“My dad would kill me,” she replied softly.

“Oh, come off it,” Liam said. “I could even set you up with Niall. You know he’s mad about you.”

“But he’s not a _Payne_ ,” Sophia argued. “My parents would never--,”

“Okay, so maybe he’s not a Payne,” Liam interrupted. “But his family _does_ own half of Dublin. Not to mention his family has such influence that they’re trying to get his face put on their _currency_. That’s got to be practically _better_ than a Payne.”

Sophia laughed a little, and Louis’s heart began to race. If she went for this, if they called off the wedding, would Liam try to go after Louis? Even further, would Louis take him back? He didn’t want to out of principle, being as Liam had hurt him so much, but at the same time he wanted him. Louis wanted him _so badly_ because no matter how Liam treated him, Louis wanted him back in his life.

“I don’t know,” she said softly.

“Just think about it,” Liam replied.

Sophia sniffled before she asked, “What if Louis doesn’t take you back?”

“Then we at least have the comfort that we’re not in a marriage that makes us unhappy.”

Louis stopped listening after that. He felt like he was intruding on a tender moment now. It occurred to him that he should have felt guiltier for breaking up a couple like that, but they’d had problems before him. Louis hadn’t really ruined anything, he’d just helped them realize that they could get out of this marriage if they really wanted to.

After overhearing that particular conversation, Louis was sure that he was going to hear from Liam any day now. With their engagement called off, Liam could go after Louis and it sounded like he’d wanted to, so Louis was confused when the call never came.

He didn’t tell anyone what he’d heard, and it turned out to be a good thing because he would have been humiliated after a few days when Liam still hadn’t called.

Louis kept holding onto hope until one day just days before final exams began. Zayn wandered into their dorm room and tossed an envelope down on Louis’s chest. Louis was lounging on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he sang along to the radio. Louis never got mail, so he was filled with confusion. “What’s this?” he asked.

“Just open it,” Zayn replied.

Something about the nervous look in Zayn’s eye made Louis feel uneasy, so he opened the envelope slowly. He pulled out a thick, gold-embellished card. As he read it his stomach dropped.

“He actually sent one to you, huh?” Zayn asked hesitantly from across the room.

He was sitting on his bed, propped up against the wall with his knees bent and a book propped on top of them. Louis tossed the card to the other side of the room.

After what he’d heard at the party the week before, he hadn’t expected to receive an invitation to Liam and Sophia’s wedding. It stung and he felt his eyes welling with tears of anger and disappointment. Louis didn’t answer Zayn. Instead, he stood up and grabbed some clothes that smelled better than the ones he was wearing – whether they were clean was a completely different question – and muttered something about needing a shower.

Louis stood under the spray of the shower, letting his tears mix with the water. He didn’t want anyone to know he’d been crying, so this was the easiest route to mask it. Zayn probably figured it out, but he was different. The other guys on the floor, however – they didn’t need to know.

He hated how much his chest hurt, how deep the disappointment welled within him. Louis was angry at himself for how easily he’d let Liam affect his mood and emotions. It started with a kiss and now it was suddenly something more, something Louis seemed far more invested in than Liam ever would be.

The sting of being invited to the wedding, however – that had hurt the most. Why would Liam even think it was okay to invite him? Louis wouldn’t be caught dead at the wedding. He’d started to develop feelings towards Liam, and he was physically attracted to him in a way he hadn’t felt towards anyone in a long time. Seeing Liam marry someone else after all that would hurt _so badly_.

When Louis returned to his dorm room, he found not only Zayn, but Niall and Harry as well. He sighed and wanted to turn right around, but Harry was pulling him into a hug before he’d even put his dirty clothes down. “I told him it was a bad idea,” Niall offered from the other side of the room.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Louis said flatly.

Zayn watched Louis with concern etched on his features. He almost looked like he didn’t think he could handle this by himself, like he’d called in Niall and Harry because he was at a loss for what to do. Whatever the reason, Louis didn’t want visitors and he said as much.

“We just wanted to see if you were okay,” Harry explained.

“Yeah,” Niall added. “Zayn said you got the invite. I tried to tell Liam, I swear.”

“I don’t care. Can I just sleep? Please?” Louis snapped.

Harry looked troubled, and Niall glanced from Zayn to Louis as though he were trying to decide if he was supposed to leave or stay – he was getting mixed messages between the two roommates. “Lou, you need to talk about this,” Zayn said softly.

“Look --,” Louis began. “I let myself get too attached to Liam. I barely know him! We’ve made out twice and argued once. I’m an idiot for wanting him in the first place because for all I know, he’s stuffy and boring and not anyone I’d want to be with. Stop coddling me, okay? I’m fine.”

“You’re not --,”

“I’m _going to be_ fine,” Louis amended through gritted teeth. “Now can I _please_ go to bed?”

Reluctantly, Niall and Harry apologized for interrupting and then headed towards the door. Zayn gave Louis one last look of worry before he pulled on his jacket and walked out the door with their friends. Once alone, Louis switched off the light and climbed into bed. Before curling up with his pillow, he grabbed his cell phone and typed out one simple word to Liam: **bastard**.

When Louis woke the next day, there was no reply from Liam. Not a single thing. Louis was confused, but didn’t dwell on it. He had final exams to ace in order to pass his classes and make it on to the next semester without being kicked out.

In an attempt to pass these exams, Louis nearly fell off the face of the earth. He didn’t text people back, he rarely saw Zayn, and he certainly tried not to think about Liam. Sometimes his thoughts would drift back to him, but he’d refocus.

Miraculously, he left his fall semester behind with a confidence he hadn’t had before. Maybe it’s because the motivation to forget Liam meant motivation to _focus_ on classwork. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it, because it meant he scraped by once again.

On his last day in the dorm before winter holidays, Louis sat around playing video games. Zayn had one last final exam that morning, and when he came back, he switched off the TV before Louis had a chance to stop him. “What the fuck was that for?” Louis asked, outraged. “I was winning!”

“We need to talk,” Zayn said seriously.

Louis had completely forgotten about Liam so he was genuinely confused when he turned to face Zayn, who’d pulled his desk chair over to Louis’s bed where Louis was perched with blankets, food, and his video game controller. “About what?” Louis wondered.

Zayn looked worried as he said, “Liam.”

“What about him?” Louis asked casually.

Zayn sighed. “You know what. What’s going on with you? Are you going to his wedding?”

“Of fucking course not,” Louis replied. “Why would I?”

With a nod, Zayn said, “Okay, that’s fair. What if I said he wanted you to go?”

“Wouldn’t make a difference.”

“Didn’t think so,” Zayn nodded. He paused and tried to choose his words carefully before he said, “He doesn’t want to marry her.”

“But he’s going to, and I don’t want to be his dirty little secret.”

Zayn was quiet as he looked across at his best friend. A lot had changed in Louis since the semester began, and Zayn felt largely responsible for it. He knew that he’d been the one to encourage Louis to meet new people, leading him right to Liam. Now Louis moped a lot, was even more opposed to going out to parties and socializing, and had a little less light and happiness in his eyes than he had when classes had started. “I’m sorry, okay?” Zayn said softly. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I never meant for this to happen.”

“I know,” Louis nodded. He frowned as he focused on Zayn. “I’m a big kid, I can handle this. Don’t worry about me.”

Zayn tried to figure out if Louis would _actually_ be okay, but it was harder to read him now. Louis was mastering the art of hiding how he really felt. Zayn looked over at his packed duffel bag by the door and said, “Mum’s almost here. I should get downstairs.”

“Alright then,” Louis nodded. “I’ll see you in January then. We’ll do a big thing for your birthday.”

Zayn frowned deeper. “I’ll call you on yours, alright?”

Louis shrugged and said, “Sure. No big deal, I don’t think we’re doing much of anything.”

Things felt tense and awkward all of a sudden – like Louis was trying to shield himself from something. Zayn stood up and held out his arms. He and Louis always used to hug – they were best friends after all – and he hoped that hadn’t changed. Louis set aside his things and stood, giving Zayn what he’d been hoping for. It felt different, though. Less meaningful. It was like this whole mess with Liam had put a rift between Louis and Zayn.

Once Zayn had left, Louis set aside his controller because he didn’t have the energy to get up and turn the TV back on. Instead, he pulled the embellished invitation out from under his pillow and stared at it some more, wondering how different things might have been if he’d just spoken up that night, gone after Liam when he still had the decision in his head to leave Sophia and go after him.

But Louis had lost his chance, and he had nobody to blame but himself. Slowly, he slid his finger along the edge of the thick paper of the invitation and sighed.

He rolled out of bed and began to stuff his clothes haphazardly in his own bags, a small duffel bag and a rolling suitcase. Louis had to pack in order to catch his early train the next morning to go home to his family for Christmas.

For Louis, going home was exactly what he’d needed. His mum and siblings helped him forget all about the heartbreak with Liam and the awkwardness with Zayn and everything else that was bothering him. They celebrated his birthday and Louis was actually glad to hear from Zayn on his birthday. They filled each other in on what they’d been doing over their holiday, and agreed to go back to the dorms a few days before the weekend when everyone else would be coming back in order to avoid the rush. Not only that, but Zayn was going to be back for Liam’s wedding. Louis still wasn’t planning on going, but he could hang out with Zayn until then.

Returning to campus wasn’t as difficult for Louis as he would have imagined when he left. His room was still the same old slightly-stinky box with clothes on the floor and Zayn’s books everywhere. He still had piles of papers on his desk and a backpack full of randomly-used notebooks because he never kept all his notes for one class in the same book. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and with the Liam mess behind him, Louis could face spring with a new attitude.

Zayn noticed, however, that the closer they got to the wedding, the less confident Louis seemed to be that he could just forget the whole ordeal and forget Liam.

However, Liam kept begging Zayn and Niall and Harry to _please_ try to get Louis to come to the stag night, at the very least. They’d decided that the easiest way to get Louis to show up was to leave out the whole _stag night_ detail. Instead, he just thought they were going out to a pub for a good time. He wore tight red pants and a black and white striped shirt with a black blazer, and he slid on some black Vans and a grey beanie on his way out.

Louis wasn’t suspicious at all until Niall showed up and looked between Zayn and Louis like he had a question that he was afraid to ask. Louis’s eyes narrowed and he asked, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Niall laughed, more nervousness present in the sound than Louis was used to.

Louis wanted to press the issue, but he was interrupted by the fact that several guys Louis didn’t know were cheering as Liam walked into the room. “What the _fuck_ , Zayn?” Louis hissed angrily.

It was obvious that Liam had already been drinking for a while – he was absolutely off his face as he stumbled up to the bar. Someone in the crowd of men Louis didn’t know shouted “stag night!” to which Louis rolled his eyes and turned to step off the barstool and wander towards the door.

“Louis, wait,” Zayn protested.

“I’ve got this,” Niall insisted, following Louis to the door.

Louis stood outside, shivering, his blazer still inside because he’d left in such a rush. He was bumming a smoke off one of the older guys outside who was happy to share with such a young, innocent looking guy like Louis. He lit it and inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes and pretended Niall wasn’t standing right next to him.

“Look, I get that Zayn lied, but there’s a reason why you’re here.”

“Do you have a reason why you lied to me?” Louis snapped.

“Actually, yeah,” Niall nodded. “How else were we going to get you here?”

“D’you ever think it’s because I don’t want to be here?” Louis argued. “You guys _know_ I don’t want anything to do with Liam or this bullshit marriage of his. You _saw_ what he did to me.”

Niall sighed and leaned against the wall next to Louis. “Will you just come inside? We can talk there… away from the stag night and Liam and all of that,” Niall pleaded.

Louis eyed Niall warily, taking another deep drag from the cigarette as he contemplated it. “Let me finish this first,” he sighed.

Without hesitation, Niall agreed. He stood silently next to Louis until he stomped out the butt of his cigarette. Then they wandered inside and to the opposite corner from where the stag night was currently taking place. Niall ordered them each a pint of something strong, and as they waited for the waitress to come back, he said, “I get how you feel, okay?”

Louis looked up at Niall skeptically. But then his thoughts drifted back to the night where he’d thought he heard Liam and Sophia agree to break up, and he asked, “Is it you?”

“What?” Niall asked.

“You. Are you the guy Sophia’s been sleeping with? Liam mentioned at a party once that you were into her and… are you?” he wondered.

Sadly, Niall shook his head. “It’s not that easy, mate. I’m the one she hangs out with. We’ve never slept together. Those are other men,” he confessed.

“So… then how do you know?”

“Come on, Liam hasn’t slept with you,” Niall laughed. “But he loves you. Just like Sophia loves me.”

Louis rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “If Liam loved me, he wouldn’t be marrying Sophia.”

“Yes, he would,” Niall said flatly. “It’s how his world works. Sophia’s, too. They have no choice. They’re not prepared to go out into the world without a cent to their name, so this is the easiest way to survive. As long as they can agree on their arrangement, everything will be fine.”

“They haven’t been agreeing lately,” Louis shot. “And I don’t want to be his dirty little secret.”

Niall looked up at Louis sadly. “Sometimes I wish I had the self-respect that you have,” he confessed. “I’d be Sophia’s dirty little secret if it meant getting even a little bit of her time.”

“You deserve better than that,” Louis replied instantly. “You really do.”

“I even turned down my ex, hoping Sophia would want me,” Niall admitted. “When I saw the way Liam talked about you and the way you two were together, I really thought I had a shot. I thought that maybe with you being as brave and stubborn as you are, you’d convince them to call off the marriage once and for all.”

“But I can’t, so…” Louis replied simply, trailing off.

“That’s why we’re here,” Niall said firmly. “We need to convince Liam to call it off. This is our last chance.”

Louis shook his head and took a big swig of beer before he said, “Not possible. He’s made up his mind. Besides, he’s piss drunk. You can’t change his mind and expect it to stick. It’s too late.”

Niall shook his head. “I don’t believe that,” he replied. “I think we still have a chance.”

“What? You want to interrupt a multi-million pound wedding when they ask for objections? Yeah, good luck doing that and keeping your head,” Louis scoffed. “It’s a done deal at this point. We’re too late.”

“Will you at least stay and try?” Niall pleaded. “Even if it’s just to prove me wrong… stay?”

Louis rolled his eyes and said, “But that would mean I’d be giving Liam exactly what he wants, and I don’t want to do that.”

“Just a few pints with the lads. Liam’s too drunk to do much anyway,” Niall bargained.

Louis realized that there was no way he could escape this. He was trapped. If he left now, he’d get a stern talking-to from Zayn and Harry would give him that kicked puppy look and it would be a mess all around. “You all _suck_ ,” Louis scowled, downing the rest of his beer.

Niall stood and followed Louis, prepared to beg him to stay if he headed towards the door. Instead, he went back to his barstool and sat down next to Zayn. “I hate you,” he hissed to Zayn.

“It was worth it,” Zayn replied.

A couple rounds of shots and a handful of beers later, the music was buzzing and everyone was out on the dance floor, including Louis. He rolled and rocked his hips, the skin between his jeans and shirt exposed when he rolled them just the right way. He felt eyes on him, but he didn’t care. Louis was drunk enough to forget why he didn’t want to be there, and now he was just moving to move. He was fulfilling his promise so he could go home and forget everything.

Louis didn’t even turn to look when someone came up to dance behind him, their hips rolling in perfect rhythm with his own. The cologne seemed familiar but he couldn’t place it, and it wasn’t until Louis felt those big hands covering his hips and the lips and scruff grazing his neck that he realized it was Liam.

The bartender shouted out last call but Louis kept moving. He was too drunk to care about what he should or shouldn’t do or feel. Liam was there and wanted him and this was Louis’s last chance. Deciding to let his selfish desires take precedent over his stubbornness and his self-preservation, Louis rolled his ass back against Liam’s crotch. He was so turned on, he didn’t even hesitate when Liam asked him to go back to his hotel room with him.

They left before anyone could even notice, and in the cab the whole way home, Liam kissed and sucked and nipped at Louis’s neck. By the time they got to the hotel, he’d left at trail of marks from his ear to his collarbone and Louis was grazing his hand over the front of Liam’s jeans.

They stumbled upstairs and Liam barely managed to get the key to work, but when they were finally in his hotel room it was all worth it. Louis vaguely registered the size of the room, being far more preoccupied with Liam’s body. His shirt was on the floor and his belt and jeans were opened faster than Louis could shut the door.

Louis reached out for Liam’s face and in seconds their lips crashed together, messy and passionate. Liam’s tongue tasted every inch of Louis’s mouth as Louis moaned, their bodies pressed together tightly. It made Louis’s head spin and he couldn’t think about anything other than Liam and how much he wanted him. “Please,” Louis moaned when he felt Liam’s mouth against the sensitive patches of skin already bruised with hickeys.

Liam nodded and fumbled with his jeans, but Louis broke away and said, “Let me.”

He got down on his knees in front of Liam and tugged at his jeans and boxers, letting them both fall around his ankles. Liam kicked them off to the side as Louis leaned in to let a long trail of spit fall from his lips to Liam’s cock, making it easier for him to stroke him to full hardness. He was _huge_ , and Louis found himself even more desperate for Liam now that he knew.

Liam’s fingers reached down to tug the beanie from Louis’s head. With that to the side, he could get a much easier grip on Louis’s hair to guide him where he wanted him. Louis was already there, desperate for it, and he moaned when Liam pulled his hair, urging him to do more.

Louis wrapped his lips around the tip eagerly, swirling with his tongue before he rested his tongue on the bottom of his mouth. He let the weight of Liam rest there as he slid his mouth forward, taking more. Liam tasted musky and like cock, and Louis moaned. He wanted more _so badly_ but he loved this, too. He wanted Liam to take everything, to do everything imaginable to him.

Liam tugged Louis’s hair and couldn’t keep himself from thrusting into his mouth when Louis moved his tongue just right. Louis moaned loudly as Liam pulled out. “Sorry,” Liam muttered.

“ _Fuck_ , don’t be,” Louis whispered, leaning in to take Liam back into his mouth.

This time, Liam did it on purpose, thrusting into Louis’s throat, drawing a strangled sort of moan from him. Louis dropped one hand to touch himself lazily over the front of his jeans as the other stroked the length of Liam that didn’t fit in his mouth. Liam fucked into Louis’s throat gently until he felt like he was going to burst. “Fuck… Louis…” he moaned softly.

Louis kept working Liam’s cock with his hand and mouth, leaning back for air before licking a long stripe along the underside of his cock. Liam shivered and whispered, “God, I’m so close already…”

With a smirk, Louis stood up and said, “Well, no coming yet.”

Liam pouted, but then he saw the way Louis was shaking his hips as he walked – or stumbled, rather – to the bed. Even with his jeans on, he was the epitome of sexy. Liam wanted to rip his clothes off, he was so full of desire for him.

Grinning, Liam followed Louis to the bed and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. “I want you so bad,” he moaned into his ear.

“Good thing I thought I was going to get laid at the bar then, huh?” he asked, holding up the contents of his pocket – a condom and a packet of lube.

Liam kissed Louis’s cheek and said, “Alright then, let’s get you undressed. I wanna see.”

“You’ve already seen, you perv,” Louis teased, all past hatred and resentment forgotten in lieu of enjoying what very well could be his last night with Liam ever.

Louis felt a heavy sadness in his chest, but he had to push it away because it was now or never. As painful as it would be, saying goodbye to Liam so he could go marry someone else, Louis knew this would be worth it. This one memory, mostly unclouded by the horrible situation, would be what he held onto until someone made him forget it entirely.

He let Liam help undress him until he was just as naked as Liam, and then he climbed back on the bed. “D’you want me to um…” Liam asked, brazenly looking down between Louis’s legs.

“Gimme,” he said, holding his hand out.

Liam passed him the packet of lube and Louis impatiently prepped himself, starting with two fingers and moaning as he eased himself around a third. His arm was bent awkwardly and his legs were up in the air, but he was hard and desperate and Liam was right there staring and licking his lips, and the situation was so awkward and sexy all at once that Louis had trouble believing it was real. “Are you ready? Tell me you’re ready, _fuck_ ,” Liam muttered, kneeling on the bed between Louis’s legs.

Louis knew he should have prepared himself more, but he wanted Liam so badly that the begging made him forego any more. He slowly pulled his fingers out and looked down as he watched Liam roll the condom on. He was _huge_ and Louis had to brace himself for it, but he wanted this more than he’d wanted anything in a long time.

Suddenly everything seemed to slow down. Louis was resting against his pillows, caramel colored hair splayed out on the starch white pillows of the hotel bed. He laid there completely unabashed, his legs spread wide, his cock hard and red and leaking against his stomach. Liam looked just as debauched, his cock hard and ready for what was to come.

Liam’s cheeks were flushed and he licked his lips as he looked down at Louis. He reached out with one hand and leaned in, positioning himself right at Louis’s tight, pink hole. “R-ready?” he asked softly.

Desperately, Louis nodded, a soft, undignified squeak falling from his lips as Liam began to press forward. “You okay?” Liam asked, letting off the pressure to let Louis breathe.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Louis panted. “Please. Just… get in me.”

Liam chuckled and said, “Just as impatient as the day I met you.”

Louis’s chest tightened as Liam got sentimental in the middle of it all. That certainly wasn’t helping Louis; he didn’t want to be reminded of the true situation, of what he’d gotten himself into. Louis didn’t dignify what Liam had said with an answer, and instead just closed his eyes as Liam pressed forward again with his hips.

Liam’s fingers guided his cock until finally the tip pushed past the tight ring of muscle and both of them let out low, sinful moans. “Fucking _hell_ you’re huge,” Louis muttered, reaching up to squeeze Liam’s biceps as Liam continued to press into him.

That made Liam grin, and he captured Louis’s lips in a kiss as he kept pushing inside of Louis. It felt like an eternity until he was completely sheathed in warmth, and Louis was moaning and whimpering, his chest rising and falling with each shallow breath. “Good?” Liam whispered into his mouth.

Louis nodded, his hands gently falling from Liam’s arms to the bed next to him, draped up by his head as he let the overwhelming sensation of being so _full_ wash over him. His eyes fluttered open to see Liam watching him with the fondest smile he’d ever seen. Louis couldn’t help but smile back, and Liam reached up with one hand to lace their fingers together as he slowly began to rock his hips.

The motion drew a hiss from Louis at first, until he got used to the stretch and began to moan as Liam’s cock brushed the right angle inside of him every so often. Liam was so tender and gentle it literally took Louis’s breath away; everything was far more amazing than he’d expected.

Their hands stayed clasped as Louis’s heart thrummed in his chest and Liam’s low, husky moans echoed in Louis’s head. He didn’t even need to be touched; the mere feeling of Liam filling him up was enough to push Louis towards that edge. Their hips rocked together in perfect, steady rhythm, Louis canting upwards to meet Liam’s thrusts, pushing him just a little bit deeper, if it was possible. “Oh god,” he muttered, the knot tightening in his belly.

“’m so close,” Liam muttered, releasing Louis’s hand in favor of steading himself so he didn’t flatten Louis into the bed.

“Faster,” Louis pleaded.

Liam sped his thrusts, drawing a little moan out of Louis each time Liam was buried to the hilt within him. Louis was flushed and sweaty, his fringe sticking to his forehead, and he wanted to come so badly. “Ah, ah…” Liam moaned, his thrusts growing rougher and more erratic.

“I’m gonna come,” Louis whispered. He wrapped his arms around Liam’s shoulders and whispered, “I… oh _god_ …”

His moan was long and drawn out as he came hard, spasms hugging Liam close as he kept thrusting, fucking Louis through his orgasm and into his own. Liam’s face rested in the crook of Louis’s neck, the juncture where his neck met his shoulders, and he moaned so sinfully Louis nearly got hard again just at the sound. That was, until he heard what Liam said as he moaned: “Oh… _Sophia…_ ”

Everything went cold for Louis.

When Liam was done, Louis pushed him off of him and didn’t even bother cleaning Liam up. Hurt more than words could describe, Louis climbed out of bed and tried to stop his lower lip from trembling. “Where’d you go?” Liam muttered.

He was too drunk and blissed out to realize what was happening now, or that’s what Louis told himself as he frantically used a cloth from the bathroom to wash up. Then he quickly dressed, his shirt on inside-out, and slid on his shoes. Louis didn’t even pull on his blazer before he rushed out the door, refusing to look back.

Louis wrapped his arms around himself as he cried the whole walk home. It was probably too late for a walk home to be safe or practical, but Louis needed time to himself. He needed the brisk January air to chill him and make him feel.

When he arrived back at his dorm, Zayn was already asleep. Louis was thankful for it, and he changed into his favorite pair of sweats and a hoodie before curling up in bed and crying some more.

He felt like such an idiot. Believing that Liam would actually want him after all of that was just nonsense, Louis told himself. Filled with self-hatred, Louis tugged at his blankets, secretly wishing he could tear them apart to satisfy his anger and frustration. Instead, it just made his fingers hurt and more tears spill over onto his cheeks.

More than anything else, though, Louis was just hurt. He physically ached, thinking about what Liam had said and how it had made him feel. He’d been filled with so much hope that maybe things weren’t going to end as badly as it seemed they would, but he’d been wrong. Louis sighed; he was _always_ wrong about this stuff. Optimism seemed to get him nowhere, and even his attempt at self-preservation had failed.

Somewhere around dawn, Louis drifted off to sleep, his eyes heavy and sore from crying so much. Later that morning, Zayn milled around getting ready, the sound of his muttering enough to wake Louis from his fitful sleep. “You know… nobody would say anything if you wanted to come with me,” Zayn offered as he noticed that Louis was awake. “I’m sure Liam would like it.”

“I’m sure he would, which is why I’m not going,” Louis replied curtly, rubbing his eyes in hopes that Zayn would think he’d made them red, rather than the tears he’d shed earlier.

He laid on his bed in pajamas, watching as Zayn tucked his shirt into his trousers and started messing with his hair in the mirror. “I can’t believe you’re actually going,” Louis commented bitterly. “Their marriage is such a sham.”

“Not everyone marries for love,” Zayn reminded him. “And I’m going because Liam is my friend.”

“Well, Liam’s not my friend so there’s no point in me going, see?” Louis quipped.

“Suit yourself.”

Zayn pulled on his blazer and buttoned it in the middle. “Harry’s coming ‘round to get me. Last chance to come?” Zayn said as he walked towards the door.

“Bye.”

Their eyes locked for one brief moment and Zayn could see the sadness in Louis’s eyes. It told him not to press the matter any longer, and he didn’t. Instead, he just sighed and left the room, leaving Louis alone to his thoughts.

Somewhere in London at that very moment, Liam was getting ready to marry Sophia. Bitterly, Louis hoped that he’d woken up with a splitting hangover and the reminder of what he’d done to Louis stuck to his skin and blankets. Even better, he wanted the others to see when they undoubtedly intruded to make sure he’d be ready on time. He wanted Liam to feel ashamed of what he’d done, of how he’d hurt Louis.

Louis drifted in and out of consciousness all day, too sleepy and worn out from the night before to really bother with anything other than getting out of bed for food or to use the loo. Nothing else deserved his attention, not even his phone.

He’d heard it ding several times, and by the time he checked it around seven o’clock that night, there were over a dozen messages. Most were from Niall, but a few were from Zayn and Harry. Only one was from Liam, and it was the most simple of the bunch. All it said was _i’m sorry_.

Louis didn’t dignify it with a response.

In fact, he didn’t dignify any with a response because he’d been set up for all of this anyway, by the trick to get him out at the stag night in the first place.

Part of Louis wanted to get away, to forget all about his second year. If he had better marks, he’d be able to transfer and get away from all his troubles forever. Unfortunately, he was stuck there if he wanted to graduate, and he knew Zayn wouldn’t let him run away from his issues forever.

At least Liam was in his last year. It meant he’d graduate and get the hell off of campus and away from Louis forever. Louis had no intention to see Liam ever again, and he would make that known very sternly to anyone who tried to get him to do otherwise.

When Zayn got back to their dorm that night, Louis pretended to be asleep. He wasn’t expecting to feel a weight on the bed behind him, so he gave up the charade and rolled over to face Zayn. “What’re you doing?” he muttered groggily.

“I’m sorry,” Zayn whispered.

“He’s married, we’ve known this was going to happen for _weeks_ ,” Louis brushed it off. It wasn’t as though Zayn fully knew what was going on anyway.

He let Zayn hug him like he’d done before, on days when Louis was _sure_ he was going to flunk out in his first year of uni. It was still as comforting as it used to be, and Louis was grateful for it. “Do you think you’ll ever talk to him again?” Zayn asked softly.

“Honestly? No. I don’t _want_ to talk to him again.”

Zayn hugged Louis a little tighter and part of Louis wondered if he knew what happened the night before, about the dancing and the sex and the way it all ended. In the end, it didn’t matter, because Zayn was there taking care of Louis just like he had since they’d first met. With Zayn, Louis could push through it.

The first time everyone got together after the wedding was incredibly awkward. First and most notably, there was the fact that Liam and Sophia didn’t even make an appearance. Whether it was because of Louis or some other reason, nobody seemed to care. They asked Louis where the faded hickeys on his neck came from, but he didn’t answer.

There wasn’t much that needed explaining, in the end. Liam had told the others that they’d slept together, that they’d finally gotten what they’d both wanted. He’d also admitted that he wished Louis would have objected to the marriage. If anyone would have had the guts to do it, it would have been Louis.

“I couldn’t do that,” Louis admitted softly to Harry, who’d asked why he hadn’t.

“But why?” Niall asked. “Don’t you love him?”

Louis sighed. He sipped at his beer and explained, “I think I did, yeah. But I’d never had any intention to interrupt their wedding. It was bad enough being his dirty secret during the engagement. I wasn’t going to fuck up the wedding or set myself up to be the secret after they married. I needed to get the hell out of that situation.”

“So then why’d you sleep with him?” Harry wondered.

“I wanted to know what it was like, I guess,” Louis shrugged. “More than anything though, I was just drunk.”

“He really loved you,” Harry offered.

“Not as much as he said he did,” Louis countered. “Trust me.”

Confused, Niall asked, “What do you mean?”

Louis flushed pink and drank the whole second half of his pint in one go before he had enough courage to answer. “Well,” he said simply. “It’s pretty telling when he moans someone else’s name during sex.”

Everyone looked shocked to hear that, which Louis found amusing in itself. They were so sure that Liam was head over heels for Louis, but it wasn’t really like that. He had feelings for Louis, but that was all. Feelings are very different than love, which Louis learned the hard way that night.

“Whose name did he say?” Zayn wondered curiously.

“Who else’s?” Louis replied sarcastically. “Sophia’s, of course.”

“But he doesn’t --,” Niall began.

“Obviously he does, at least a little,” Louis interrupted.

Nobody spoke for a moment, and Louis sighed. “I’m sorry,” Zayn offered.

“Yeah, me too,” Niall added. “I shouldn’t have encouraged you to go after him.”

“No, it’s fine,” Louis shook his head. “No more feeling sorry for me, alright? I’m only twenty-one. It’s not like I’m ready for something serious the way he was, anyway. No worries.”

Zayn looked skeptical, but he didn’t say a word.

As it turned out, Liam and Sophia essentially fell off the face of the earth after their wedding. Liam graduated, but when he wasn’t in class he was spending all of his time with Sophia. Louis distracted himself with school, mostly because he’d gotten a stern talking-to that masqueraded as an intervention from Zayn, Niall, and Harry. They wanted to support him and they were truthfully a little angry at Liam too, but Louis had been drinking too much and they’d cared for him while he was blacking out a few too many times.

And totally unlike anything Zayn had seen before, Louis listened.

Zayn kept a close, wary eye on his best friend through their final years at uni, but Louis never slipped back into his old ways. He’d have a few drinks with everyone else whenever they had time to go out, but he never got as horribly drunk as he used to, the way he’d get when his mind would linger upon Liam for too long.

When he graduated, Louis felt better. He’d let Liam go, a faint scar that was fading to nothing, a memory for a rainy day. He liked spending time with Niall and Harry, and Zayn had been his roommate from beginning to end.

Zayn moved on to complete his postgrad while Harry got a job in a nursery school. Niall took over doing the books and the stuffy business work for his brother’s pub, and Louis got a job teaching primary school music. Everything was fine, and the past was in the past.

That was, until Louis walked into Liam – quite literally. As he was leaving the loo of the pub Niall and his brother worked at, he bumped into someone large and strong, the familiar scent flooding his senses all over again. Before he could place where the scent was from, Louis looked up to see Liam staring back down at him in awe.

Liam looked better than he used to, but at the same time he looked worse. He’d aged a lot in four years. Wrinkles etched into his forehead and his hair seemed a bit thinner. It was still quiffed to perfection but it lacked something. There was obvious fear in his eyes, maybe a bit of worry, and Louis pushed himself away harder than he’d meant to.

“Sorry,” Liam muttered.

“You should be,” Louis snapped.

Each stared at the other as he tried to figure out what to do or say next. Louis wanted to push past him but the hallway was narrow and Liam was in his way. Liam’s lips were pursed in a way that looked as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t figure out how.

After a long, unsettling silence, Louis looked down and tried to hedge his way around Liam as he said, “I have to go.”

He’d managed to skirt nearly all the way around Liam before he was stopped. “Louis, wait,” Liam protested, and Louis froze as he felt Liam’s warm hand on his arm, a gentle plea to _stay_. His piercing blue eyes looked back up at Liam, whose expression was astoundingly apologetic. “We really need to talk.”

“No, we don’t,” Louis insisted, but the conviction wasn’t in his voice. Truthfully, he’d always wanted an explanation, a reason for why Liam had done that to him.

“Please, Louis,” Liam tried again.

Louis really, _really_ wanted to walk away, but Liam’s touch was enough to root him to the spot. He hated that he was just as weak for Liam now as he had been when they’d first met. Only this time, that weakness also left an ache in his chest that hadn’t existed before, like every time they spoke, another piece of his heart chipped off and disappeared to nothing, a reminder of everything Liam had done to him.

“I’m sorry.”

When nothing was said but that, Louis found it easier to begin to protest. “You know, you said that to me the day you got married, too, but it didn’t seem to make a difference,” he quipped. “Why should I believe it now?”

“Because… it’s true.”

“Well excuse me if I don’t believe you,” Louis replied with a roll of his eyes. “I mean, can we think about this for a minute, Liam? You practically start dating me, we spend the night together, and you _still_ marry someone else? And after you two talked about splitting up, too.”

“How do you know about that?”

“I’m not finished.” Louis held up his hand to try to shush Liam. “You really hurt me. Not just because you lied to me when we first met, and you kept lying to me along the way, but because of what you said.”

“What did I say?”

Louis’s scowl was more fierce and angry than Liam had ever seen before, and he physically withdrew from Louis as he waited. He’d been drunk near the point of blacking out, he didn’t remember every detail from that night. Louis didn’t care, though. What Liam did had hurt him and as Zayn had told him many times, alcohol wasn’t an excuse.

“You said _her_ name when you came, not _mine_.”

Liam froze, staring at Louis with big, wide eyes full of realization. “Louis, I…,” he began.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Louis steeled himself as he looked across at Liam. “I’ve already gotten over you. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind now.”

Liam swallowed hard, and Louis didn’t know why he was still hanging around. He’d said what he wanted to, but Liam looked nervous and scared and those were new things for Louis. Liam had always looked so confident. Softly, Liam asked, “Not even if I told you that Sophia and I were getting divorced?”

In a flash, it was as though all the hard work he’d put into forgetting that Liam even existed was _gone_. Suddenly all Louis wanted was to be wrapped up in Liam’s arms again, flashbacks of those amazing kisses and that night that had put everyone else to shame… he wanted Liam. Now it was Louis’s turn to swallow hard and try to keep composure. His voice trembled as he asked, “Why are you getting divorced?”

Liam looked down at his feet as he said, “She um… she met someone else. And he’s better for her.”

“What do you mean? I thought you guys _had_ to get married… for the business or whatever.”

“Yeah, when I was the best thing she could find. But then this other asshole comes into the picture and he’s about nineteenth in line to the throne. He practically owns half of the land in Britain. We don’t work together and now that she found him, I’m out of the picture. I’m actually living with my older sister right now… Sophia kicked me out and everything,” Liam explained quickly, his words tripping together as he explained the reality out loud for the first time since it had all happened, even if Louis had no idea.

If he’d known, he would have understood better the tears in Liam’s eyes and that look of pain on his face. “She’s an idiot if she thinks you’re not good enough,” Louis said with fierce conviction. “An absolute idiot.”

Liam laughed nervously and shook his head, eyes always training back down at his shoes as he stood in front of Louis. “I’d been planning to call you when the divorce was final, but since we ran into each other, I guess… I’m glad I could tell you,” Liam confessed. “But I understand if it’s too late. You’ve probably got tons of people falling for you.”

“You can’t flatter your way into my pants,” Louis warned, but there was a smile playing at his lips and Liam caught a flash of it before Louis looked away and let his expression drop.

“I’m trying to ask if you’re taken, is all,” Liam countered.

Louis fixed a calculating gaze on Liam and didn’t speak for a moment. Seconds later, Niall came bounding down the hallway shouting after Louis, only to freeze when he saw Louis and Liam face to face. He looked between them, trying to figure out what the situation was and if he should intervene, but instead he just asked, “Er… can I get to the loo?”

With his gaze fixed strongly on Liam, Louis said, “No.”

At first Liam was confused, but when he saw that Louis wasn’t paying Niall any attention, realization flashed in his eyes. He smiled and nodded, but before he could speak Niall cut him off with a protest of, “But I really need to go!”

Louis rolled his eyes and walked way, giving Niall space to walk past them and into the bathroom, and leaving Liam to stew over what Louis had implied. Louis was more nervous than anything else, but Liam had only asked if he was taken, not if he wanted a date or a relationship or anything like that.

A few days later, out at a café with Zayn, Louis was sipping at his tea when Zayn dropped the bomb. “I heard you saw Liam the other day.”

Louis’s eyelashes splayed on his blushing cheeks as he looked down at his tea before he slowly brought his gaze to meet his best friend’s. When he looked up, he sighed and replied, “Yeah, I did. I ran into him at Niall’s pub.”

“Well?” Zayn asked slowly, trying not to spook Louis. Discussing Liam with him was thin ice, and Zayn didn’t want to scare him off the topic. “What happened?”

“We talked.”

An eyebrow shot up as Zayn grew surprised. Louis was incredibly stubborn and had sworn that he was never going to speak to Liam again. But now Louis had given him a chance. “What did he have to say?” Zayn wondered.

“He didn’t remember the erm… _details_ of that night,” Louis replied noncommittally. “Oh, and he’s getting divorced.”

Zayn sputtered as he choked on his coffee. He leaned forward in his seat and once he’d gotten himself under control, he asked, “He _what_? I thought he had to marry her?”

“She found someone better, apparently,” Louis shrugged. “She filed for the divorce, kicked him out, the whole deal. He’s living out of his sister’s place and he looked pretty bent up about it.”

Hesitantly, Zayn asked, “Do you think you’ll see him again?”

“Dunno,” Louis sighed. He leaned back in his chair and played with the string on his tea bag to distract himself. His eyes were trained on his hands as he said, “He asked me if I was seeing anyone.”

Zayn nodded. He knew all he needed to know; it was obvious that Liam still had an interest in Louis. The bigger question was whether Louis was going to give in or not. If he did, Zayn worried if it would all end badly again. Liam had hurt Louis once, who was to say he wouldn’t do it again?

As it turned out, he didn’t have to worry too much. Niall spread the word to Harry as well, and Harry was the most overprotective of the bunch, though they were all incredibly protective of Louis. He’d just gotten his life on track and he’d accepted what had happened – if Liam unraveled it and ruined things, they’d never forgive him. Harry gave Liam a stern talking to, but Liam insisted it was all going to be okay.

Nervously, Louis fumbled with the buttons on his shirt before tugging it off and opting for a jacket. “Too formal,” he muttered, flinging the jacket across his room.

He was only getting coffee with Liam – their first proper hangout since running into each other at the bar – but he was so nervous he was trembling. Letting Liam in again was one of the scariest things Louis had ever agreed to do, and all the warnings from Niall, Harry, and Zayn had him worried that he’d get hurt again.

Louis picked up a cream-coloured knit jumper and tugged it over his head, sighing when it mussed up the hair he’d just taken the time to comb back nicely. Frowning as he looked in the mirror, he turned to one side and then the other. The jumper looked nice, and it hung on him as though it were a little big, but he was cozy and the sleeves covered his hands so he’d stay warm. His plain black skinny jeans hugged his curves, and he slid into the comfortable black Vans he wore when he wasn’t teaching. He ran a hand through his hair, preserving the general quiff shape he’d achieved before, and decided that this would have to do; he was going to be even later if he didn’t leave now.

By the time he arrived at the café, Liam appeared to be half done with his latte. He smiled when he saw Louis, and stood up with his arms outstretched when he entered. “Hey,” Liam greeted.

“Sorry I’m late,” Louis replied, wrapping an arm around Liam’s strong torso as he allowed Liam a hug.

When he leaned away, Liam smiled and said, “You say that like I wasn’t expecting it.”

Louis rolled his eyes and sat down, his hands curled in the sleeves of his jumper as he let the warmth of the café soak through to his bones. Liam stepped up to the counter and came back a few minutes later with a steaming cup of tea for Louis. “It’s nice to see you again,” Liam offered.

“You too,” Louis nodded.

He held the cup of tea in both hands, bringing it to his lips so the steam could warm his face while the cup warmed his hands, and his sparkling blue eyes looked over the rim of the cup at Liam, who seemed happier than Louis had ever seen him.

“Look Louis, I owe you a million apologies,” Liam began.

“I’m going to stop you right there.”

Liam froze, confused, as Louis set down his teacup and leaned forward, prepared to give Liam a very stern talking-to. He didn’t want this to go on any longer. “I know you’re sorry. And you have a lot to be sorry for, truth be told,” spoke Louis simply. “But the truth is… I forgave you a long time ago.” Liam’s jaw dropped a little in surprise. Before he could ask, Louis just continued, “I cared about you so much, Liam. I shouldn’t have fallen for the bloke I kissed for a psychology experiment but I _did_ and at first it was amazing. And then you made me feel like a fool. But then I overheard you and Sophia talking and I had hope.”

“And you were right to have hope,” Liam interjected. “We shouldn’t have backed out of our plan.”

“But you did,” Louis said simply. “You backed out, you broke my heart, and you married her. I was so broken I didn’t have the guts to go protest even though ever since that day, I’ve wished that I had. So I drank. I almost flunked out of uni. Zayn, Niall, and Harry all saved my ass and now I’m here with you again, but I’m different. We’re both different, Liam, so I’m sorry but I’m not going to jump into a relationship all over again with you.”

Liam looked crestfallen. Louis let his words sink in for a moment before he took a deep breath and reached out. His hand covered Liam’s on the small tabletop and he said softly, “But I want to start over with you. We’re adults now, and we have different lives than we did when we first met.”

“Start over?” Liam asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Louis nodded. “We need to actually get to know each other. For all I know, you’ve changed and become a total asshole that I never want to speak to ever again.”

Louis smirked, and Liam caught on. With that deep laughter that Louis loved so much, he replied, “Well, that was the old me. You don’t know what I’m like now.”

“True,” Louis conceded. “But I think I’m starting to figure you out already. You’re actually quite easy to read, Payno.”

“And?” Liam grinned. “What does the mighty Tommo have to say about me?”

Louis’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he focused his gaze across the table on Liam. He gave him one last calculating look-over before he decided to reply.

“I like what I see.”

 


End file.
